Chocolate Chunk Biscuits GF

These are really good and easy to whip up.  If you wanted them to be nut free just use 1 cup on sunflower seed butter.  We made our own almond butter using raw almonds and blending in the Thermomix.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter 
1/2 cup Almond butter
⅓ cup raw honey
1 egg, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup Chocolate chunks (use a dark chocolate bar roughly cut up or dark chocolate chips)

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 180 C
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out a dollop of cookie mix and pour onto baking sheet. Space out so cookies do not form together when they bake.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, be careful not to overcook these.
Put on cooler rack.
Enjoy!

These last well in an airtight jar. They were still great day 3.

Gluten Free made Easy Workshop

BOOK NOW!

Gluten Free Made Easy Workshop - 6th July 2013 in Silverdale

During the workshop they will show you how to create great tasting food with ease while you take notes, ask questions, and if you wish, get some hands on experience. Morning tea & lunch will be provided (plus lots of snacks and treats). You need not bring anything apart from a container to take some delicious samples home at the end of the day.

Neville will also show you how to blend your own flours which enables you to cater for your own dietary needs as well as save money.

"This is great value ... 5 hour course, recipe book with 50+ recipes, morning tea, lunch, 12 months subscription to their recipe club and some delicious baking to take home! Talking to Neville I was amazed at how much they pack into those 5 hours. Can't wait!" Trish

Book Direct on the Gluten Free Made Easy website www.gfme.co.nz

Check out more details on our Facebook Page

Chickpea Casserole

So simple and so hearty, this Chickpea Casserole is the perfect winter comfort food. 

Its a healthy little casserole thats lick-the-bowl delicious, quick to prepare and easy on the budget. Packed full of flavour and a great way to get your daily intake of vegetables.
This is one of those dishes where you can literally use up what's in the fridge. 

It is so versatile, try different combinations of vegetables that are in season to truly nourish your body. I first stumbled across this recipe when dining at my good friend Sonia's house, she is one of the first people who influenced me and showed me that vegetarian food is delicious (it was a few years ago!). This version is as close to the original that I can recall, whenever I make this recipe I always think of her (and our hilarious attempts at playing tennis!). 

I love the way that (for me) food provokes memories and 

transports (me) to another time and place - Trish

• Take 1 can of Chickpeas (drain) place these in the bottom of a casserole dish. 
• Saute 1 onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic in approx 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil.
• Then take 1/2 of a 800g can of chopped tomatoes and layer over the chickpeas.
• Next layer is the onions and garlic. 
• Next layer 2 cups of other vegetables (I used red pepper, roasted pumpkin and spinach)
• Then the other 1/2 of the canned tomatoes.
• Make sure to add some fresh herbs in the layers 
• (I used sage and basil) dried herbs is fine too.
• Top with 1/2 cup of unsweetened greek yoghurt (you could use sour cream) mixed with 1 egg.
• Sprinkle with crumbed feta cheese

Bake 170 degree celcius for approx 30 minutes or until brown on top and vegetable are cooked through.

How often do you eat "Meatfree"? 

Enjoy!
Trish and Treena x

Gluten-free Baking powder

Did You Know? Most commercially produced baking powder contains aluminium - sodium aluminium sulfate to be exact. Make your own baking powder, and keep your baked goods aluminium-free. I use this recipe for all my baking.

Here's how to make your own baking powder:

Ingredients
1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/2 cup arrowroot flour

Sieve together baking soda, cream of tartar and arrowroot flour. Store in an airtight container.

Makes: 1 1/4 cups

Savvy Tip: The corn starch in this mixture will absorb any moisture from the air, and prevent the baking powder from reacting before you need it.

To make 3 teaspoons
Ingredients
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Mix together, use immediately.

Grilled Snapper with Potatoes

For those of you that enjoy fishing - this is one of our family's favourite recipes. 

Grilled Snapper with Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp dried, oregano or 2 tbsp oregano, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 potatoes, thinly sliced
250 g cherry tomatoes
4 snapper fillets

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place oregano, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil in a large bowl; season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; whisk to combine, and transfer 1/2 the mixture to a small bowl.
2. Add potatoes to the large bowl and toss to combine. Spread potatoes onto a large, oiled baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove tray from oven and switch oven to grill setting.
3. Place snapper and tomatoes on top of potatoes, spoon over remaining herb oil, and grill for 6-8 minutes. Serve with fresh green salad and lemon wedges.

Enjoy !

Treena and Trish x

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Recipe from Mindfood Magazine

Choc Banana Smoothie

We had a couple of extra kids over after school today, I decided to whip up one of my favourite smoothies (I use this recipe when I feel like a chocolate fix but are wanting to be healthy, yes healthy food can be yummy to)

It got the thumbs up from them, they loved it.


Combine ...

1/2 cup of milk 
1 banana
1 1/2 teaspoons of dutch cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of chai seeds
2 dates (to sweeten) 
around 1/2 cup of ice. 

Blend until smooth! 

If you don't want to use Dutch cocoa powder simply use some raw cacao powder (to be extra healthy, you will find cacao powder at your local Organic Store). 

These quantities are for one serving. 

Treena x



Savvy Health Snapshot: Why use Cacao powder?  

High in antioxants (one of the richest sources), high in fibre and a rich source of magnesium, Vitiamin C and iron.

2 Simple and Quick Homemade Dips

Roasted Pumpkin Hummus

Prep: 5-10mins / Makes 500g / Cost $2.60

1 can of chickpeas 

2-3 lemons juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp cumin 

salt and pepper

2 gloves of garlic (we use roasted)

1 1/2 cups of Roasted Pumpkin (we had some pre-frozen)

Blend in the food processer, blender or Thermomix. 
Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Replace pumpkin with Roasted Kumara or use a combination.

You can use the base recipe to make any version of store brought hummus or just keep it plain.

- Reserve some chickpeas and mash roughly and pop on top with homemade roasted tomato sauce. Delicious!
- Add roasted beetroot, its a delicious twist. 

Savvy Tip # Roast a whole pumpkin in the oven - its easy to peel, chop then freeze. We use it in this hummus, soups, stews, pasta dishes etc.

Savvy Tip # In place of canned chickpeas you can used dried - Cover in water, soak over night and rinse. This will also reduce the cost. 

Serve with homemade lavash, vegetable sticks. Great to spread in wraps, sandwiches or as a condiment with salads.

Simple Basil Pesto
Prep time:5 Min Makes: 230g approx

2 packed cups basil leaves
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
Good-quality olive oil
¼ cup grated parmesan
½ tsp salt
ground black pepper¼ cup roasted nuts - we used cashews

Purée all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Or pound with a mortar and pestle, adding oil once the mixture forms a fine paste.

Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze in a small container.
Savvy Tip #
Hi Trish! Love this page!  I love Basil Pesto but because of the whole 'nut' factor I never had it til recently when I made it myself and used sunflower seeds that I roasted in the oven until lightly golden....soooo yummy! one of my favourite things now lol 

Savvy Tip #  




Nigel makes it lightly toasted pumpkin seeds also. Plus we don't always have parmesan so that's optional too. I love changing recipes around based on what we have on hand 

Savvy Tip # 
add in a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice for a bit of ZING!

Savvy Tip #
Reserve some of the nuts and pulse to blend at the end to make a chunky pesto!